Package for molded food product and method

ABSTRACT

A solid food product is molded in a mold cavity and is thereafter packaged in the mold cavity. The mold cavity is formed in a sheet and includes a side wall which extends from the sheet and a bottom wall which includes an inverting portion which extends from said side wall and a central portion. The central potion of the bottom wall includes a plurality of ridges which form a decorative design. A liquid food product is introduced into the mold cavity and allowed to solidify to form a molded solid food product. The central portion of the bottom wall is thereafter pushed into the mold cavity to invert said inverting potion and to push the molded food product away from the central portion of the bottom wall. The molded food product includes ridges which correspond to the ridges in the bottom wall of the mold cavity. A lid is attached to the sheet to enclose and package the molded food product within the mold cavity.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to molded food products, and, more particularly,to a package for a molded food product which is used to mold the foodproduct and subsequently to package the food product.

Many food products are molded with a decorative design on the outersurface thereof. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,183,101, 3,317,326,3,398,000, 3,798,335, 3,865,953, 3,896,239, 3,901,000, and 3,976,796describe butter or margarine products with an embossed or raised designon the upper surface. The butter or margarine can be quarter pound orlarger bulk servings or can be smaller pats which are sized forindividual servings. Many other food products may be molded with adecorative design, for example, chocolate and cheese.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,335 describes a process for filling molds withliquid butter or margarine. In accordance with current practice, afterthe molds are filled, the butter or margarine is frozen. The frozenproduct is removed from the mold by “punching” or pressing the outsideof the mold cavity so that the mold is turned inside out and the frozenproduct is ejected or dispensed onto a tray or plastic sheet.

The ejected embossed butter or margarine pats can be packaged forshipping to the customer in several ways. Individual pats can be loadedinto a tray of the type which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,239.Alternatively, after the embossed pats are ejected onto a tray, apackage with pockets for the pats can be placed over the pats. The trayis then inverted to drop the pats into the pockets, and a lid or covercan be positioned over the pats.

Individual embossed pats can also be loaded into individual packages.See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,865,953, 3,901,000, and 3,976,796.Butterball Farms, Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich. markets individual pats inclear plastic packages called “Tip-Out” packs. Each pat is individuallysealed in a pocket in a plastic package, and the pocket is covered by aplastic film. At the point of consumption, the consumer peels off thefilm and tips out the pat, embossed side up.

The foregoing packaging processes suffer from a number of disadvantages.For Example:

-   -   The molds are used once and are disposed of after the pats are        removed.    -   The process for punching out the pats and inserting them into a        package is labor intensive and expensive.    -   If the pats become too warm, the pats can fall prematurely from        the molds.    -   Locating the molds before ejecting the pats and locating the        packages over the pats is done by eye by the operator and may be        inaccurate.

In one current practice the plastic tray which is used to mold multiplepats of butter or margarine is also used to ship the pats after they arefrozen. The mold cavities may be vacuum formed in thin plastic film,e.g., PETG, which is about 0.0025 inch thick. Trays which are used tomold and ship the pats are intended to be used by the institutionalcustomer which purchases the pats, for example, a restaurant. Such acustomer punches out the pats onto a plate in a kitchen or preparationarea and then places individual pats onto serving plates for theconsumer, for example, a restaurant patron.

This process also suffers from a number of disadvantages:

-   -   The bottoms of the mold pockets of the package are concave, and        the package may be somewhat unstable when it rests on the        concave pockets.    -   The pats are not loose in the package and must be ejected after        shipment.    -   The pats must be within a certain temperature range in order to        be ejected cleanly, and proper ejection technique must be        followed. Many institutional customers do not exercise proper        temperature control and/or ejection techniques, and pats can be        damaged or ruined during ejection.    -   The package contains multiple pats and is not used for        individual servings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a mold cavity both molds the foodproduct and forms the package for the product. The mold cavity is formedfrom a plastic sheet and includes a side wall and a bottom wall. Thebottom wall includes ridges or peaks and valleys which form thedecorative design on the product. The bottom wall is constructed so thatit can be pushed into the mold cavity after the product is molded toeject the product from the mold cavity. Preferably, the bottom wallincludes a generally frusto-conical inverting portion and a centralportion which includes the peaks and valleys. The pushing step invertsthe inverting portion as the central portion moves into the mold cavity.The bottom wall advantageously remains in the pushed-in condition whenthe mold cavity serves as the package.

Product such as liquid butter or margarine is dispensed into the moldcavity and then solidified by refrigerating or freezing. After theproduct is solidified, the bottom wall of the mold cavity is pushed inor punched so that the bottom wall moves into the mold cavity and theproduct is released from the surface of the mold cavity. The bottom wallremains in its punched condition, and the pat can sit freely on thebottom wall. A thin plastic film or lid is attached to the sheet toenclose the product for shipping. Each mold cavity includes a singleproduct.

The inventive package and process provides several advantages over theprior art:

-   -   The disposable mold film is eliminated, saving the cost of        purchasing, handling, and disposing of the film.    -   The punching operation is performed at the factory using proper        technique and under proper temperature conditions.    -   The step of transferring the products from the molds into        separate packages is eliminated, significantly reducing        production labor.    -   The package is molded with the decorative design, substantially        enhancing its outside appearance.    -   The punched-in bottom wall of the mold cavity provides a more        stable support if the package is supported by the bottom wall.    -   The expense of separate containers or trays is eliminated.

The mold/package can be formed individually so that each package holds asingle product. Alternatively, multiple molds can be formed in a singlesheet of material. After the products are molded and frozen, eachindividual mold/package can be cut from the sheet and shipped as anindividual package with a single product, or the entire sheet can beshipped with multiple products.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be explained in conjunction with illustrativeembodiments shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embossed food product such as abutter or margarine pat which is molded and packaged in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the mold for forming the foodproduct of FIG. 1, the bottom wall of the mold being in its pushed-incondition;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the mold of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the mold taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the mold with the bottom wall in its outerposition and the mold filled with liquid food product;

FIG. 6 illustrates the bottom wall being punched to its pushed-inposition and the food product being ejected from the mold;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the package, consisting of the mold and the foodproduct which is retained in the mold;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7 whichillustrates the completed package, with the food product inside themold, the bottom wall in its pushed-in position, and a lid or filmcovering the food product and sealing the package;

FIG. 9 is a side view of an eight cavity mold for molding eightindividual food products;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the mold of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one of the moldcavities of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the inverting portion of thebottom wall of the mold cavity of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a punch fixture for punching orinverting the bottom walls of the eight cavity mold of FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the punch fixture;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the punch fixture;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of one of the punches of the punchfixture;

FIG. 17 is a top view taken along the line 17-17 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a bottom view taken along the line 18-18 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a side view of a locator block for holding the eight cavitymold of FIG. 9 during punching; and

FIG. 20 is a bottom plan view taken along the line 20-20 of FIG. 19.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embossed food product 10. The particular foodproduct is a butter pat which is sized as an individual serving, forexample, about 0.2 ounce. However, the invention is suitable for usewith other food products, for example, margarine, chocolate, cheese, andthe like, and other sizes, for example, ¼ pound or larger.

The pat 10 is generally round and includes a bottom surface on which thepat rests, a frusto-conical side surface 11, and a top surface 12. Adesign 13 is embossed or raised from the top surface. The particulardesign illustrated is the letter “m,” but the designs are unlimited.

Although the invention is particularly suitable for products with anembossed or raised design, the invention can also be used with productshaving a lowered or grooved or engraved design on the top surface or acombination embossed and engraved design.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the mold/container 15 for the pat 10. The mold isformed from a plastic sheet having a thickness within the range of about0.008 to about 0.025 inch. Suitable plastics include polystyrene,oriented polystyrene (OPS), styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), PET, andPETG. One specific embodiment was formed from PETG having a thickness of0.015 inch.

The mold 15 includes a generally flat flange 16 and a generallycup-shaped pocket or cavity 17 which is formed by a frusto-conical sidewall 18 and a bottom wall 19. The side wall can also be a portion of asphere or some other suitable shape, and the bottom wall can be acontinuation of the side wall. The bottom wall is shown in FIGS. 2-4 inits pushed-in condition which it assumes after the molded product isejected from the mold and while it functions as a container for themolded product. The cavity is formed in the plastic sheet by vacuumforming, e.g., plug assist vacuum forming, or other suitable methods.

The bottom wall 19 includes a generally frusto-conical inverting portion20 and a generally dome-shaped central portion 21. The inverting portion20 extends inwardly and upwardly from the bottom edge 22 of the sidewall to a circular edge 23 which joins the inverting portion 20 and thecentral portion 21. The central portion 21 is convexly shaped toward thebottom edge 22 and concavely shaped toward the flange 16. Recesses orridges 24 extend downwardly from the central portion for molding theembossed design 13 on the product. As described in the foregoing UnitedStates patents, the central portion could be formed with a variety ofupwardly or downwardly extending recesses, ridges, peaks, and/or valleysfor molding any desired embossed and/or engraved design on the product.The term “ridges” as used herein broadly refers to any variation in thesurface which produces a design on the product.

The inverting portion 20 can be inverted back and forth between itspushed-in or inverted position illustrated in FIG. 4 and its pushed-outor non-inverted position illustrated in FIG. 5. When the mold 15 isoriginally formed, the bottom wall has the shape shown in FIG. 5. Theoriginal or as-molded position of the inverting portion 20 is thus thenon-inverted position of FIG. 5. The inverting portion can be moved ineither direction by exerting an appropriately directed pushing orpulling force on the inverting portion and/or the central portion 21.

In the preferred embodiment, the inverting portion 20 snaps, or moves“over-center,” when it moves between the non-inverted or pushed-outposition of FIG. 5 and the inverted or pushed-in position of FIG. 4. Itis believed that the over-center movement is accommodated by outwardflexing of the frusto-conical side wall 18, and/or flexing of theinverting portion 20, and/or flexing of the central portion 21 of thebottom wall. As a result of the over-center movement of the invertingportion 20 and the rigidity and resilience of the mold material, theinverting portion will remain in its pushed-out or pushed-in conditionuntil it is forcibly moved to the other position.

The material of the mold has sufficient flexibility to permit theover-center movement of the inverting portion and also has sufficientresilience and rigidity so that the inverting portion and the centralportion of the bottom wall will retain either the pushed-in orpushed-out position. In both the pushed-in and pushed-out condition, theinverting portion 20 is generally frusto-conical in shape. The resilientside wall 18 returns to its original position after the invertingportion moves over center.

FIG. 5 illustrates the mold with the bottom wall in its non-inverted orpushed-out condition. The frusto-conical inverting portion 20 extendsgenerally radially outwardly and preferably slightly downwardly from thebottom edge 22 of the side wall 18 to the edge 23 of the central portion21.

When the mold is in the non-inverted or pushed-out configuration of FIG.5, the mold cavity is filled with a liquid food product 27. If theproduct is butter or margarine, the procedure described in U.S. Pat. No.3,798,335 is advantageously used. The top surface 28 of the filledproduct is below the flange 16 so that the mold can later serve as acontainer when the mold is in its pushed-in configuration.

After filling, the product is allowed to solidify in the mold. If theproduct is butter or margarine, the product is refrigerated or frozen,preferably frozen. Other food products can be solidified at highertemperatures, for example, room temperature.

FIG. 6 illustrates the molded, solid food product 10 being ejected fromthe mold. A punching or pushing force 30 is applied to the bottom wall19 to move the central portion 21 upwardly and to invert the invertingportion 20. The punching or pushing force may be exerted by a finger orthumb or may be exerted mechanically. The punching or pushing force ispreferably exerted on the inverting portion 20 or at the edge 23 betweenthe inverting portion 20 and the central portion 21 of the bottom wall.

As the central portion 21 moves upwardly and the inverting portion 20inverts, the product 10 is moved away from the central portion 21 and isejected from the ridges or recesses 24 of the mold. If the temperatureof the food product is within an appropriate range, depending upon thenature of the product, the product will be ejected with the design 13intact. The ejection of the product 10 from the mold is exaggerated inFIG. 6 for clarity of illustration. The product 10 need not becompletely ejected from the mold as shown in FIG. 6. The product ismerely pushed upwardly sufficiently to remove the embossed design 13from the ridges/recesses 24 in the bottom wall of the mold.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, after the molded food product 10 is ejectedfrom the mold, the food product remains in, or is reinserted into, themold while the mold remains in its pushed-in condition. The top surface12 of the food product is supported by the edge 23 between the invertingportion 20 and the central portion 21 so that the embossed design 13 onthe food product is spaced from the recesses/ridges 24 of the mold. Thebottom surface 32 of the molded food product is spaced below the flange16. The food product is sealed within the mold by a lid, cover, sheet,or film 33 which is removably attached to the flange 16, preferably byadhesive. The lid is advantageously formed from a plastic film such asDuPont's 50RL42 having a thickness of about 56 gauge.

The sealed package 34 comprising the mold 15 and the food product 10 canthen be stored for later shipment to a customer. If the food product isbutter or margarine, the package is preferably stored in a refrigeratoror freezer and shipped in an insulated container which will maintain theproduct at the desired temperature.

The package can be shipped by orienting the package with either thebottom wall 19 down or the lid 33 down. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, whenthe mold is in its pushed-in position, the concave central portion 21and the ridges 24 are preferably positioned at or above the bottom edge22 of the side wall 18 so that the package is supported in a stablemanner by the circular bottom edge 22. The molded food product issupported loosely within the cavity or pocket of the package by thepushed-in bottom wall 19, preferably by the circular edge 23.

The package 34 contains a single food product and is particularlysuitable for individual sized servings, for example, a 0.2 ounce butterpat. However, the package can also be used for larger sizes of foodproducts. Multiple packages 34 can be packaged within a shipping cartonfor shipment to a customer, for example, a fast food restaurant. Therestaurant can distribute individual unopened packages 34 to therestaurant patrons. The package 34 is preferably served to the patronwith the bottom wall 19 of the package facing up so that the ridges orrecesses 24 present an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The patronopens the package by peeling the lid away from the flange 16, and tipsthe product onto a plate or the like so that the embossed design 13faces upwardly.

Although the particular bottom wall 19 of the mold which is illustratedin the drawings includes an inverting portion 20, other ways ofinverting the bottom wall and ejecting the molded food product can beused. For example, the entire bottom wall can be dome-shaped orconcavely curved downwardly away from the flange 16. The concave bottomwall can be inverted or reversed by pushing the bottom wall into aninverted convex shape which curves upwardly toward the flange 16.

In the preferred embodiment, molds 15 are used individually to packagethe molded food product. However, multiple molds could be formed in asingle sheet for molding multiple food products. The sheet could then becut into individual molds for packaging the food products, or the sheetcould remain intact for packaging multiple food products.

A sheet containing multiple mold cavities may advantageously be punchedin-line in a continuous process as the sheet is moved out of a freezer.The sheet may be advanced from the freezer to a punching station wheremechanical punches eject multiple food products from multiple moldcavities. A plate may be positioned above the mold cavities to preventthe food products from being ejected completely out of the moldcavities. The sheet of mold cavities may thereafter be advanced to asealing station which applies a lid or cover to the mold cavities toseal the food products.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an eight cavity mold 40 for molding eightembossed food products such as butter or margarine pats. The eightcavity mold 40 includes eight mold cavities 41, and each individual moldcavity 41 is formed is substantially the same way as the mold 15. Theeight cavity mold 40 is advantageously plug assist vacuum formed from asheet 42 of PETG having a thickness of 0.015 inch. Similar molds can bemade with any desired number of mold cavities, e.g., 20, 40, 60, etc. Agreater number of mold cavities facilitates commercial production andpackaging of the molded food products.

FIG. 11 illustrates one of the molds 41 of the eight cavity mold 40.Each mold 41 includes a frusto-conical side wall 43, and a bottom wall44. The bottom wall includes a frusto-conical inverting portion 45 and agenerally dome-shaped central portion 46. The central portion 46includes recesses or ridges 47 for molding an embossed design on thefood product.

Referring to FIG. 12, the frusto-conical inverting portion 45 extendsdownwardly and inwardly from an annular shoulder 50 which extendsinwardly from the frusto-conical side wall 43. A second inwardlyextending annular shoulder 51 extends inwardly from the invertingportion 45 to the dome-shaped central portion 46.

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate a mechanical punch fixture 54 for mechanicallyinverting or punching the eight bottom walls 44 of the eight molds 41 ofthe eight cavity mold 40. During the punching step, the frusto-conicalside wall 43 of each of the molds 41 is supported by a locator block 56.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, the locator block 56 includes eightopenings 57, one for each of the molds 41. Each opening 57 is providedby a frusto-conical surface 58 which has substantially the same shape asthe frusto-conical side walls 43 of the molds 41. In the embodimentillustrated, each surface 58 is angled at 10 degrees from the verticalaxis 59 of the opening. The height of the locator block is less than theheight of the side walls 43 of the molds 41 so that the upper portion ofeach side wall extends slightly above the top of the locator block asillustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15. The locator block is advantageouslyformed from Delrin.

The punch fixture 54 includes a base plate 61 for supporting the locatorblock 56 and a top plate 62 which is supported by four vertical rods 63.The rods may be attached to the plates 61 and 62 by screws. A punchplate 64 is slidably mounted on the rods 63 and can be reciprocated by apiston 65 which extends vertically through the top plate 62. The upperend of the piston 65 is slidably mounted in a bushing 66. A handle 67 ispivotally mounted on a support bracket 68 which is mounted on the topplate 62. A link 69 is pivotally connected to the handle 67 and thepiston 65 so that pivoting movement of the handle reciprocates thepiston 65 and the punch plate 64.

Although the punch plate 64 is manually reciprocated by the handle 67,other conventional and well known devices for mechanically reciprocatingthe punch plate can be used. For example, the punch plate can bereciprocated by a hydraulic cylinder and piston, a ball screw actuator,or the like.

Eight punches 71 are mounted on the punch plate 64 in alignment with theopenings 57 in the locator block 56. Referring to FIGS. 16-18, eachpunch 71 includes a bottom end 72 which is provided with afrusto-conical side wall 73 and a cylindrical counterbore 74 whichextends upwardly from the bottom end. The side wall 73 and thecylindrical side surface 75 of the counterbore form a circular bottomedge 76. A bolt opening 77 extends through the top of the punch forattaching the punch to the punch plate 64.

In one specific embodiment, the diameter of the counterbore 74 was 1.0inch, and the angle of the frusto-conical side wall 73 relative to thevertical was 41 degrees. As will be explained more fully hereinafter,the diameter of the bottom edge 76 of each punch is sized to engage theinverting portion 45 of one of the molds 41

The molds 41 are filled with food product as previously described withrespect to the mold 15, and the product is allowed to solidify, e.g., byfreezing. The eight cavity mold 40 is then placed in the locator block56 so that the embossed bottom walls 44 of the molds 41 extend upwardlythrough the openings 57 in the locator block and the side walls 43 ofthe molds 41 are supported on the outside by the surfaces 58 of theopenings 57 in the locator block.

The molds 41 are then punched by lowering the punch plate 64 and thepunches 71 so that the circular bottom edges 76 of the punches engagethe inverting portions 45 of the molds 41. As the punches continuedownward, the inverting portions 45 are moved over-center from theirpushed-out condition illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 to their pushed-incondition (see FIGS. 4 and 6). The portions of the side walls 43 of themolds which extend upwardly beyond the locator block 56 flex outwardlyto permit the over-center movement of the inverting portions. As theinverting portions 45 invert or move downward, the food products withinthe molds 41 are ejected from the molds onto the base plate 61. The foodproducts are then returned to the pushed-in molds, and a lid is securedto the sheet 42 over the food products to seal the food products withinthe molds as previously described with respect to FIGS. 6-8.

If desired, the lid can be attached to the sheet 42 before the productsare punched from the molds to eliminate the labor of replacing theproducts in the molds. There is sufficient space in the molds betweenthe sheet and the pushed-in position of the top of the molds to allowfor ejection of the products after attaching the lid.

The mold 40 and the products which are packaged within the molds 41 canthen be stored and shipped as previously described. Alternatively,individual molds 41 and the products therein, or a strip of molds 41 andproducts therein, can be cut from the mold 40.

The molds 41 are oriented in FIGS. 13-15 so that the bottom walls 44face upwardly and are punched downwardly. However, the punch fixture canalso be arranged so that the bottom walls are punched upwardly asillustrated in FIG. 6.

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of specificembodiments was set forth for the purpose of illustration, it will beunderstood that many of the details described herein may be variedconsiderably by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method of molding and packaging a food product comprising the stepsof: introducing a liquid food product into a mold, said mold having amold cavity defined by a side wall and a bottom wall, allowing the foodproduct to solidify to form a molded solid food product, pushing thebottom wall of said mold into said mold cavity and pushing the moldedsolid food product away from the bottom wall, and attaching a lid tosaid mold to cover said mold cavity and to enclose said molded solidfood product within said mold cavity.
 2. The method of claim 1 includingthe step of detaching said lid from said mold and removing the moldedsolid food product from said mold cavity.
 3. The method of claim 1 inwhich said liquid food product is introduced into said mold cavity sothat the top surface of the food product is spaced below the top of saidside wall.
 4. The method of claim 3 in which the top surface of saidmolded solid food product is spaced below the top of said side wallafter the bottom wall is pushed into said mold cavity.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 in which, before said introducing step, said mold cavity isformed so that said bottom wall includes a central portion and aninverting portion between said central portion and said side wall, saidinverting portion extending downwardly and inwardly from said side wall,said central portion curving downwardly away from the top of said sidewall.
 6. The method of claim 5 in which during said pushing step saidinverting portion is inverted and extends upwardly and inwardly fromsaid side wall and said central portion of said bottom wall is movedtoward the top of said side wall.
 7. The method of claim 1 in which saidbottom wall includes a central portion and a frusto-conical invertingportion which extends downwardly and inwardly from the side wall to thecentral portion during said introducing step, said pushing step causingthe inverting portion to invert so that it extends upwardly and inwardlyfrom the side wall to the central portion, said inverting portionremaining in the inverted position during said attaching step.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 in which said pushing step causes the invertingportion to move over center.
 9. The method of claim 1 including the stepof forming ridges in said bottom wall before said introducing step, saidridges forming a design on said molded solid food product.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 including the step of forming downwardly extendingridges in said bottom wall before said introducing step, said ridgesforming an embossed design in said molded solid food product.
 11. A foodpackage comprising: a generally flat flange, a pocket extending fromsaid flange, said pocket including a side wall portion which extendsfrom said flange, an inverted wall portion which extends inwardly fromthe side wall portion and toward said flange, and a central wall portionwhich extends from said inverted wall portion, said central wall portionhaving a plurality of ridges which form a design in said central wallportion, a solid food product within said pocket, said food producthaving a surface with a plurality of ridges which correspond to theridges in said central wall portion and which form a design on the solidfood product, and a lid attached to said flange for enclosing said foodproduct in said pocket.
 12. The food package of claim 11 in which saidlid is removably attached to said flange whereby the lid can be detachedfrom said flange and said food product can be removed from said pocket.12. The food package of claim 12 in which said lid is adhesivelyattached to said flange.
 14. The food package of claim 11 in which saidridges in said central portion extend away from said flange and saidridges on the surface of said food product are raised to provide anembossed design.
 15. The food package of claim 11 in which said pocketis formed from plastic having a thickness within the range of about0.008 to about 0.025 inch.
 16. The food package of claim 15 in whichsaid plastic is PETG.
 17. The food package of claim 11 in which saidpocket is formed from PETG having a thickness of about 0.015 inch.